Editorial: Never take access to information for granted

Sunday

Mar 10, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Have you attempted to obtain public documents from a government entity? Have you been moved to action because you read an article exposing mishandling of your taxpayer dollars? Have you been frustrated because you were locked out of a meeting held by your elected officials and now want to know what decisions were made that affect you, your family, your community?

Have you attempted to obtain public documents from a government entity? Have you been moved to action because you read an article exposing mishandling of your taxpayer dollars? Have you been frustrated because you were locked out of a meeting held by your elected officials and now want to know what decisions were made that affect you, your family, your community?

This week each year, journalists across all media spectrums mark National Sunshine Week. Since 2005, this annual ritual has been conducted to raise awareness about how critical open access to government records is to the work of journalists and civic-minded individuals and groups across the nation.

And each year seems to bring a new waves of challenges to existing laws or controversy over what exactly should be public. This past December, the Journal News newspaper created a database identifying gun-permit owners throughout its coverage area in Westchester and Rockland counties. The database was created in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre. And while the newspaper has since taken down the searchable listing of thousands of gun owners, the impact of this misguided move by an established news organization resonates. It has quickly inspired a number of proposals to limit or deny access to public information.

With the access to public information and the ability to share that access with a wide audience comes responsibility. And when irresponsible decisions are made, the public trust is broken and the response is often the most obvious — take away the access so this won't happen again.

It is a customary practice during National Sunshine Week to remind ourselves how challenging it can be to gain access to public records, even when the law clearly stipulates your right to that information.

Want an example that is close to home?

Then take Orange County Executive Ed Diana's claims about the severity of the damage done to the storm-ravaged Government Center. Those claims were leveraged by his office to support the call for demolition of the landmark complex and the building of a new government center. It was May of last year when this newspaper reported that a Federal Emergency Management Agency report, completed months earlier but not released by Diana's office, strongly contradicted many of the damage claims the county executive was making. Those claims formed the basis for Diana's strong push to build a new government building, at a cost approaching $100 million.

For months, the public discussion over the fate of the Government Center was absent the critical context offered by FEMA. And when that information was made public, it was done so with the power of a Freedom of Information Act request made to FEMA, and not the county executive's office.

That information redirected the debate. It cast necessary light on how forthcoming our leaders have been or not been on this issue. It raised new concerns about how critical decisions on spending your tax dollars were being made.

Where would we be without laws to give you that access?

And where we would be if we didn't spend this time each year reminding the public how precious open access is, and how easy it can be for public officials to hide records or otherwise deny access.